Sony a6400 camera settings

[Barmaglot]

Thanks for your reply….
I’m using pop up flash through fiber optic wire.
Surprise why the picture taken using ST-100 is becoming 100% black, not dark…. If synchro will be early or later, I think I can see picture taken as flash didn’t work, that means dark… But in fact, appears 100% black.
I think this is very strange and I don’t know if problem is caused by ST-100 flash or because camera settings.

This is certainly odd. Traditionally I would suspect excessive shutter speed, but the a6300 wouldn't let you set it above 1/160s if the pop-up flash is up, and I assume that a6400 is the same way. Is the camera in M mode? Fill flash? If you fire the strobes at a mirror, do you see anything in the shot? If you set it to rear curtain sync and set a slow-ish shutter speed, do you see two distinct flashes from both the pop-up flash and the ST-100s? What happens if you hold the ST-100's light sensor up to the flash port on the housing directly, without a cable in the way?

The Sony cameras always fire a preflash. Your off camera strobes are firing on the preflash and thus your exposure is black or underexposed. You must configure your strobes to ignore the preflash.

Not possible with the ST-100, it will always fire both flashes, so it is effectively a forced TTL flash, same as the onboard one. By itself though, it shouldn't produce black shots - at least it never did for me.

 

[Nemrod]

This is certainly odd. Traditionally I would suspect excessive shutter speed, but the a6300 wouldn't let you set it above 1/160s if the pop-up flash is up, and I assume that a6400 is the same way. Is the camera in M mode? Fill flash? If you fire the strobes at a mirror, do you see anything in the shot? If you set it to rear curtain sync and set a slow-ish shutter speed, do you see two distinct flashes from both the pop-up flash and the ST-100s? What happens if you hold the ST-100's light sensor up to the flash port on the housing directly, without a cable in the way?


Not possible with the ST-100, it will always fire both flashes, so it is effectively a forced TTL flash, same as the onboard one. By itself though, it shouldn't produce black shots - at least it never did for me.

All Sony cameras always fire a pre-flash even in Manual mode. Manual mode sTTL is possible therefore and works well.

If the fellow's flashes are set for a single flash then they will not work with a Sony camera. There is no way to make a Sony not fire a preflash. The two flashes occur so quickly that you will not see them as seperate flashes but the strobes defintly will.

Also check that the camera is set to mechanical shutter or e-first curtain only. Set for Fill Flash.

Stand in front of a mirror and fire the camera and strobes. You should see bright strobes in the mirror when in sync.

 

[Barmaglot]

All Sony cameras always fire a pre-flash even in Manual mode. Manual mode sTTL is possible therefore and works well.

I know. I used that combination for about two years myself before upgrading to Retras.

If the fellow's flashes are set for a single flash then they will not work with a Sony camera. There is no way to make a Sony not fire a preflash. The two flashes occur so quickly that you will not see them as seperate flashes but the strobes defintly will.

There is no way to set the ST-100 Pro for a single flash, it's a dumb slave strobe - it will fire when it sees a triggering signal and quench when it goes away. The double flash, in my experience, is easily visible.

 

[J.Sola]

I know. I used that combination for about two years myself before upgrading to Retras.


There is no way to set the ST-100 Pro for a single flash, it's a dumb slave strobe - it will fire when it sees a triggering signal and quench when it goes away. The double flash, in my experience, is easily visible.

Hi Dears….
I have tried to make a thousand combinations with the camera and the flash and I have realized that the problem why the external flash did not fire sometimes was because the camera had not fit perfectly in the case and when opening the flash of the camera, it was not in an optimal position.
Once I solved the problem that the external flash did not always switch on, I dedicated myself to trying all the possible combinations of the pop up flash configuration as well as those of the ST-100 external flash... And then my surprise was even greater : with the power of the external flash at minimum, I have managed to take photographs; but as the power was increased, the photos became completely black.
Of the 6 power positions that the flash has, I can take photographs at the lowest power and in the second position. In the third, let's say that 50% of the time the result is satisfactory and 50% completely black.
So, I think the problem lies in the compatibility of the Seafrogs ST-100 with the Sony a6400 since I have used the flash for 3 years with an Olympus TG6 and it has always worked perfectly.
My son has the same flash and uses it with a Canon G7X and always satisfactorily.
Since I have put my effort into using the Sony 6400 from now on, I think I should change my external flash. Could you recommend a brand and model of external flash that synchronizes perfectly with the Sony a6400?
The connection would be through fiber optic cable, which is the option provided by the Seafrogs casing.
Thanks in advance for your advice and suggestions.

 

[BFRedrocks]

Hi Dears….
I have tried to make a thousand combinations with the camera and the flash and I have realized that the problem why the external flash did not fire sometimes was because the camera had not fit perfectly in the case and when opening the flash of the camera, it was not in an optimal position.
Once I solved the problem that the external flash did not always switch on, I dedicated myself to trying all the possible combinations of the pop up flash configuration as well as those of the ST-100 external flash... And then my surprise was even greater : with the power of the external flash at minimum, I have managed to take photographs; but as the power was increased, the photos became completely black.
Of the 6 power positions that the flash has, I can take photographs at the lowest power and in the second position. In the third, let's say that 50% of the time the result is satisfactory and 50% completely black.
So, I think the problem lies in the compatibility of the Seafrogs ST-100 with the Sony a6400 since I have used the flash for 3 years with an Olympus TG6 and it has always worked perfectly.
My son has the same flash and uses it with a Canon G7X and always satisfactorily.
Since I have put my effort into using the Sony 6400 from now on, I think I should change my external flash. Could you recommend a brand and model of external flash that synchronizes perfectly with the Sony a6400?
The connection would be through fiber optic cable, which is the option provided by the Seafrogs casing.
Thanks in advance for your advice and suggestions.

I use a pair of INON Z330s with my a6500 and they work perfectly in TTL mode or manual mode (how I shoot them). I previously had a pair of S&S YS-D2s that worked fine with the a6500 until one flooded and I switched to the INONs.

 

[Barmaglot]

Of the 6 power positions that the flash has, I can take photographs at the lowest power and in the second position. In the third, let's say that 50% of the time the result is satisfactory and 50% completely black.

This sounds like they reworked the electronics since I bought my pair back in 2018. The ones I had didn't respond to any knob changes, while yours look like they're working in manual power mode, and they fire on pre-flash with the set power level, which empties the capacitor, and leaves little to nothing for the main pulse. Since there is no way to cancel the pre-flash on the Sony a6400 camera, you need to either find a way to get the ST-100 to ignore the pre-flash, or change strobes. As I recall, it has two magnet switches - one for turning the modeling light on and off, and the other for pre-flash cancellation. Mine rusted and stopped working after about a year, but if yours still work, you might want to try to play with those.

Since I have put my effort into using the Sony 6400 from now on, I think I should change my external flash. Could you recommend a brand and model of external flash that synchronizes perfectly with the Sony a6400?

What's your budget? I like my Retra Pros very much, but I got them via preorder at a significant discount; the current price of $1780 for a Retra Flash Pro Max + booster is quite difficult to justify. The SeaFrogs SF-01 has decent reviews, is well-priced, and apparently has a pre-flash ignore mode, but I haven't used it myself so I can't comment. The new Backscatter HF-1 seems to be quite good, and the launch price of $899 is still available - it'll probably go up to something like $1100-1200 once the promotion runs out.

 

[Nemrod]

I know. I used that combination for about two years myself before upgrading to Retras.


There is no way to set the ST-100 Pro for a single flash, it's a dumb slave strobe - it will fire when it sees a triggering signal and quench when it goes away. The double flash, in my experience, is easily visible.

I never see the preflash unless I look for it. It is one of the downsides of Sony cameras. In fact, as much as I like my camera, I would probably just buy a Canon GX7III or the AOI Oly rig or a Nauticam with the Oly OM before considering any Sony camera. I do not know if the FF Sony cameras have a preflash cancel or a fully manual flash selection as do Oly, Canon, Nikon. But the A series Sony cameras alway fire a preflash even in manual mode.

If the ST100 strobes cannot be set for a preflash then they will not work with a Sony camera. No way, no how. Any modern strobe from Inon (S220) or YS, S&S, Backscatter, Retra, whoever, will be able to configure for a preflash (except for Ikelite stuff possibly).

I have been using Inon D2000 strobes but just bought a set of Inon S220 for their smaller form factor and slight power increase.

 

[Barmaglot]

If the ST100 strobes cannot be set for a preflash then they will not work with a Sony camera. No way, no how

Mine worked just fine, as TTL slaves. Power output was limited by the pop-up flash duration, but they worked.

 

[J.Sola]

I use a pair of INON Z330s with my a6500 and they work perfectly in TTL mode or manual mode (how I shoot them). I previously had a pair of S&S YS-D2s that worked fine with the a6500 until one flooded and I switched to the INONs.

Thanks for info….
But I was checking for Z330 and they are not available anymore….
From same brand there is S220… Do you know if can work as Z330?

 

[J.Sola]

Mine worked just fine, as TTL slaves. Power output was limited by the pop-up flash duration, but they worked.

Mine are working as yours with Olympus TG6 and Canon G7X….
But cannot work with Sony a6400